Background: Gastric carcinoma (GC) is the fourth most common cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Most patients are diagnosed at later stage, because of few treatment options, the prognosis is poor. In recent years, however, Immune checkpoint inhibitors(ICIs), such as anti- programmed death-1 (PD-1), anti-PD-L1, and anti-cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen 4, have emerged as promising therapeutic agents in GC. Here, we summary the current treatment and advances of immune checkpoint inhibitors in the advanced stage of GC. Methods: WANFANG MED ONLINE, CNKI, NCBI PUBMED and clinicaltrials.gov were used to search literature spanning from 2000 to 2021, and all literatures about “advanced gastric or gastro-oesophageal junction cancer, Immune checkpoint inhibitors, PD-1, PD-L1, Cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen 4, immune therapy” with detailed data were included. Results: Nivolumab and pembrolizumab have been recommended for the third line or subsequent therapy in advanced GC. Nivolumab plus chemotherapy has been recommended for the first line treatment in advanced GC in China. Many other ICIs have been demonstrating encouraging efficacy. PD-L1, MSI-H, Epstein Barr virus, and tumor mutational burden (TMB) status maybe potential biomarkers for response to clinical outcomes for ICIs in GC. Conclusion: ICIs have shown encouraging treatment efficacy and manageable safety profile in GC. Some biomarkers including PD-L1, MSI-H, EBV, and TMB status could evaluate the efficacy of ICIs in GC.

Objective: Studies have indicated that combining Maackia amurensis seed lectin with first-line chemotherapeutic agents enhances the efficacy of treatment for oral squamous cell carcinoma. The study aimed to investigate the underlying mechanism of Maackia amurensis seed lectin in the treatment of oral squamous cell carcinoma. Methods: Gene Expression Omnibus dataset mining, reverse transcription–quantitative polymerase chain reaction, and western blot analysis were performed to identify the expression of SRY-box transcription factor 2, methyltransferase 3, and YTH domain-containing protein 1 in oral squamous cell carcinoma. The N6-methyladenosine methylation levels of SRY-box transcription factor 2 were detected though methylated RNA immunoprecipitation. The effects of Maackia amurensis seed lectin and SRY-box transcription factor 2 on oral squamous cell carcinoma cells were determined via Cell Counting Kit-8 and colony formation assays. Results: The results demonstrated that increased expression of SRY-box transcription factor 2 in oral squamous cell carcinoma is correlated with elevated levels of N6-methyladenosine modification, and treatment with Maackia amurensis seed lectin reduces the N6-methyladenosine modification level and SRY-box transcription factor 2 expression. Moreover, overexpression of SRY-box transcription factor 2 reversed the inhibitory effects of Maackia amurensis seed lectin on oral squamous cell carcinoma cell proliferation and colony formation. Conclusions: Maackia amurensis seed lectin may inhibit oral squamous cell carcinoma cell proliferation by suppressing N6-methyladenosine modification–mediated SRY-box transcription factor 2 expression, thereby improving chemotherapy sensitivity in oral squamous cell carcinoma.